Mexico Unmaskedhttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/
en-USMon, 14 Oct 2013 14:23:48 -0400http://www.typepad.com/This blog has a new home!http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/10/this-blog-has-a-new-home.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/10/this-blog-has-a-new-home.htmlSorry, folks, for those who have been looking for blog posts here for the past 10 days or so. As part of a redesign of the McClatchy Washington Bureau's webpage, this blog has moved. It is now here. If you want an RSS feed, you would go here. There have...<p>Sorry, folks, for those who have been looking for blog posts here for the past 10 days or so. As part of a redesign of the McClatchy Washington Bureau&#39;s webpage, this blog has moved. It is <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/mexico-unmasked/index.html" target="_self">now here</a>. If you want an RSS feed, you would <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/mexico-unmasked/v-rss/index.rss" target="_self">go here</a>. There have been plenty of new blog posts since Oct. 1, including one yesterday on a sculptor who is turning decommissioned guns into musical instruments. Please take a look! And from now, blog posts no longer come to this website. They go here:&#0160;<a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/mexico-unmasked/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.mcclatchydc.com/mexico-unmasked/index.html</a></p>
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<p>&#0160;</p>Tim JohnsonMon, 14 Oct 2013 14:23:48 -0400How cartels win with storm damagehttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/how-cartels-win-with-storm-damage.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/how-cartels-win-with-storm-damage.htmlAs Mexico’s government stumbles in dealing with the massive damage caused by Hurricanes Manuel and Ingrid, organized crime groups are trying to fill the void. Members of the Gulf Cartel allegedly posted the video above to YouTube showing how a caravan of their pickups brought disaster relief to the town...<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/w1dPedkP8Ek" width="460"></iframe></p>
<p>As Mexico’s government stumbles in dealing with the massive damage caused by Hurricanes Manuel and Ingrid, organized crime groups are trying to fill the void.</p>
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Members of the Gulf Cartel allegedly posted the video above to YouTube showing how a caravan of their pickups brought disaster relief to the town of Aldama in Tamaulipas state after it suffered flooding from Hurricane Ingrid.</p>
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One slide in the video says, “Helping out – something politicians and governors haven’t done.” And it adds that members of the cartel “are people like you and I.”</p>
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There’s some bogus religious imagery in it but the joy of people receiving the aid seems genuine.</p>
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One of Mexico’s most incisive columnists, Raymundo Riva Palacio, went further in <a href="http://www.ejecentral.com.mx/coctel-ominoso/" target="_self">a column here (in Spanish)</a>, saying that the extent of storm damage will have the Pena Nieto administration on the ropes, what with 58,000 people homeless, tens of thousands of head of cattle killed and more than 1.3 million acres of cropland destroyed.</p>
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He calls it a “dangerous cocktail” – in part because drug gangs are poised to benefit by offering aid to stricken communities and winning their affections.</p>
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“The federal forces do not have the human capacity to simultaneously deploy across the country in rescue and evacuation operations and offering care to communities. The cartels, however, operate surgically with their potential clientele. Criminals will benefit proportionally from the discomfort of those affected by delays in relief or no relief at all …”
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Riva Palacio notes that the ports where precursor chemicals come in on the Pacific side for manufacturing methamphetamine weren’t damaged, and that while marijuana and poppy crops were hit the cartels will charge more for the scarcity, reaping benefits.</p>Drug warSocial issuesTim JohnsonSat, 28 Sep 2013 14:04:30 -0400The fury of Mexico's double stormshttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/the-fury-of-mexicos-double-storms.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/the-fury-of-mexicos-double-storms.htmlTropical storms occasionally lash Mexico – some from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, and others from the Pacific Ocean. Rarely, though, do storms hit both coasts at the same time. That’s what happened Sept. 15-16, and this image from NASA’s Terra satellite and taken from the NASA website shows...<p>
<a class="asset-img-link" href="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e2019affa6088d970d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="IngridManuel_tmo_2013258" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83451c64169e2019affa6088d970d" src="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e2019affa6088d970d-500wi" style="width: 465px;" title="IngridManuel_tmo_2013258" /></a><br />Tropical storms occasionally lash Mexico – some from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, and others from the Pacific Ocean. Rarely, though, do storms hit both coasts at the same time.</p>
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That’s what happened Sept. 15-16, and this image from NASA’s Terra satellite and taken from <a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_self">the NASA website </a>shows the power unleashed on Mexico those two days.</p>
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At left is Tropical Storm Manuel, which hit the area around Acapulco on the Pacific side, and at right is Hurricane Ingrid rolling in off the Gulf of Mexico. On the morning of Sept. 15, when this image was taken, Ingrid had winds of 75 mph.</p>
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According to <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=82080" target="_self">this NASA blog posting</a>, the last time Mexico got hit by simultaneous hurricanes was in 1958.</p>
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The<a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-mexico-storms-flooding-acapulco-20130926,0,1563648.story" target="_self"> storms and subsequent flooding took 139 lives</a>, although nearly 60 people remain missing. Losses are estimated at nearly $6 billion.</p>Tim JohnsonFri, 27 Sep 2013 20:07:03 -0400No bunny relief for disaster victimshttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/no-bunny-relief-for-disaster-victims.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/no-bunny-relief-for-disaster-victims.htmlThe publishing house that produces Mexico’s edition of Playboy magazine contends the government has rejected two truckloads of disaster relief needed by victims of two hurricanes that lashed the nation’s coasts simultaneously last week. Grupo Gin Media Business said its employees had rounded up a “modest” contribution for disaster relief....<p>
<a class="asset-img-link" href="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e2019affa4822e970c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Mexico Tropical Weath_Nost" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83451c64169e2019affa4822e970c" src="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e2019affa4822e970c-500wi" style="width: 465px;" title="Mexico Tropical Weath_Nost" /></a><br />The publishing house that produces Mexico’s edition of Playboy magazine contends the government has rejected two truckloads of disaster relief needed by victims of two hurricanes that lashed the nation’s coasts simultaneously last week.</p>
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Grupo Gin Media Business said its employees had rounded up a “modest” contribution for disaster relief.</p>
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“We know that this is only a small contribution to all that is needed, however, we think it is worth and will make a difference for at least a small number of families,” it <a href="http://www.24-horas.mx/playboy-denuncia-que-rechazan-su-acopio-para-damnificados/" target="_self">said in a statement</a>.</p>
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“Sadly, because this publishing house counts among its titles various magazines such as Open, El Gourmet, Forward, Soy Grupero and Playboy, our help has been rejected because a few deem one of our titles not worthy of cooperating, Playboy magazine,” it added.</p>
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Grupo Gin said it would not be discouraged. It said one of its playmates, Brazilian Leia Freitas, would preside over a drive this afternoon to gather more relief supplies and the company would work around the government, delivering the goods on its own.</p>
<p>That&#39;s an AP photo above, by the way, of the tremendous damage in La Pintada, the Guerrero state town that was smacked by mud slides and flooding, causing a bulk of the 140 or fatalities from the storm.</p>EnvironmentSocial issuesTim JohnsonFri, 27 Sep 2013 14:39:45 -0400Crowded subway cars and faintinghttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/crowded-subway-cars-and-fainting.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/crowded-subway-cars-and-fainting.htmlWherever you were this morning, be glad you weren’t on the Mexico City metro line that goes through the Candelaria station. Due to some bad equipment, the wagons on that line grew super-crowded. The Metro system (@STCMetroDF on Twitter) just tweeted a while ago that eight people fainted in cars...<p>Wherever you were this morning, be glad you weren’t on the Mexico City metro line that goes through the Candelaria station. Due to some bad equipment, the wagons on that line grew super-crowded. The <a href="http://mexicometro.org" target="_self">Metro system</a> (@STCMetroDF on Twitter) just tweeted a while ago that eight people fainted in cars going through that station today. “They were treated at the station,” the system said.</p>
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Odd fact: I learned by reading their Twitter feed that the city’s deepest subway station is Line 7’s Camarones, which is 30 meters deep, or 98.4 feet. That’s like a 10-story building. Reminds me of visiting a <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pyongyang_Metro-1.jpg" target="_self">subway station in Pyongyang</a>. There, all the stations are super deep because <a href="http://eidus.org/2011/12/27/a-ride-on-the-pyongyang-metro/" target="_self">they also serve as bomb shelters</a>.</p>Social issuesTim JohnsonTue, 24 Sep 2013 15:06:40 -0400Mexico's changing map of pollutionhttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/mexicos-changing-map-of-pollution.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/mexicos-changing-map-of-pollution.htmlWhat are the four cities with the greatest air pollution in Mexico? If you guessed Mexico City as one of them, you’d be wrong. I just got back from a news conference by the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness, a think tank, and their scholars have taken public data and extrapolated...<p>What are the four cities with the greatest air pollution in Mexico? If you guessed Mexico City as one of them, you’d be wrong.</p>
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I just got back from a news conference by the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness, a think tank, and their scholars have taken public data and extrapolated costs related to air pollution.</p>
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By far, the city with the worst air pollution in Mexico is Mexicali, an industrial city across from Calexico, California. According to the think tank, 30 people die prematurely a year in the city from effects of air pollution, and 74 out of 100,000 people are hospitalized a year because of its effects. <a href="http://imco.org.mx/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMCO_Presentación_CalidaddelAire_19Sep13_-FINAL.pdf" target="_self">Here&#39;s a link</a> to their Spanish-language presentation.</p>
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Following Mexicali are (surprisingly!) Cuernavaca, then Monterrey and Tijuana. Cuernavaca is often called the “garden city” for its delightful climate. It’s a resort located over a small mountain range from the capital. Monterrey is a big industrial hub, with steel, glass, cement and autoparts industries, so no surprise that they’d have problems. Tijuana also has a lot of industry.</p>
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Mexico City comes in fifth place but its level of suspended particulates smaller than 10 microns was less than a third of Mexicali. I’ve written about <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/12/02/104629/whats-missing-in-mexico-city-dirty.html#.UkHOKxajTzI" target="_self">Mexico City’s improving air quality</a>. It’s no longer jokingly referred to as Mexsicko City.</p>
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The study only measured particulates, not ozone of sulphur. So it has some drawbacks. But if you want to avoid the yuck factor, you might stay away from Mexicali.</p>Border issuesEnvironmentTim JohnsonTue, 24 Sep 2013 13:42:58 -0400The 'disappeared' in Coahuila statehttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/the-disappeared-in-coahuila-state.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/the-disappeared-in-coahuila-state.htmlThis is a rather artistic seven-minute video by my colleague Deborah Bonello for Global Post on the problem of the disappeared in Coahuila state along the border with Texas. Thousands of people have gone missing in the area around Coahuila. I was up there myself in March and filed this...<p>
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<p>This is a rather artistic seven-minute video by my colleague Deborah Bonello for Global Post on the problem of the disappeared in Coahuila state along the border with Texas. Thousands of people have gone missing in the area around Coahuila. I was up there myself in March and <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/03/05/184898/mexican-families-struggle-to-bring.html#.UjyYvRajTzI" target="_self">filed this report</a>.</p>Drug warSocial issuesTim JohnsonFri, 20 Sep 2013 14:52:13 -0400Leahy flexes his muscle on El Salvadorhttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/leahy-flexes-his-muscle-on-el-salvador.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/leahy-flexes-his-muscle-on-el-salvador.htmlA single U.S. senator can change history in Central America. I’ve seen it several times in past decades. It certainly happened with the late Jesse Helms, the Republican from North Carolina who grew deeply involved in efforts to halt communism in the isthmus. Now, it’s happening with Patrick Leahy, a...<p>
<a class="asset-img-link" href="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e2019aff7f0e9e970c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Mandatory Sentences_Nost" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83451c64169e2019aff7f0e9e970c" src="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e2019aff7f0e9e970c-500wi" style="width: 460px;" title="Mandatory Sentences_Nost" /></a><br />A single U.S. senator can change history in Central America. I’ve seen it several times in past decades. It certainly happened with the late Jesse Helms, the Republican from North Carolina who grew deeply involved in efforts to halt communism in the isthmus.</p>
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Now, it’s happening with Patrick Leahy, a liberal Democrat from Vermont who has been in the headlines everyday this week in El Salvador. That&#39;s Leahy above, left, standing next to Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican.</p>
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Leahy has had a long interest in Central America, and he has committee heft to make his voice heard. In addition to chairing the Judiciary Committee, he chairs a foreign operations subcommittee.</p>
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That means he keeps his hands on purse strings for foreign aid. He’s been in the news here since his office issued <a href="http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-a-second-millennium-challenge-compact-for-el-salvador" target="_self">a statement last Friday </a>regarding a $277 million pending investment in El Salvador under the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S.-government designed aid program.</p>
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Leahy noted that the program was designed “to reward countries whose governments are taking effective steps to address key issues of governance, particularly combating corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and supporting equitable economic growth.”</p>
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In many ways, he said, El Salvador is coming up short. Corruption and money laundering are rampant, and organized crime is on the upswing, he wrote. El Salvador must fortify the attorney general’s office and keep the judiciary independent.</p>
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He also fired a shot across the bow of President Mauricio Funes, noting concerns “about some public officials in positions of authority who have promoted individuals within the police and security forces who have no business being in public office because of their involvement in illegal activities.”</p>
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Whew! And who might those be? Leahy didn’t say but scratch just about any Salvadoran with his ear to the ground and several names emerge.</p>
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Funes, notoriously prickly, lambasted Leahy over the weekend, calling him “misinformed.”</p>
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Leahy issued <a href="http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/statement-of-senator-patrick-leahy-on-funding-for-a-second-millennium-challenge-compact-for-el-salvador-september-18-2013" target="_self">a new statement Wednesday</a>, citing “disappointing that Salvadoran officials reacted as they did to my remarks last week.” He noted that Congress has the power to disburse the funds, and “it should not be taken for granted.”</p>
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In case President Funes didn’t get the message, or hasn’t studied Central American history, Leahy suggested that he reconsider his response “for the good of the Salvadoran people and if they want a second (Millennium Challenge) compact to be funded.”</p>Central AmericaTim JohnsonThu, 19 Sep 2013 21:42:32 -0400Traveling through time in El Salvadorhttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/traveling-through-time-in-el-salvador.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/traveling-through-time-in-el-salvador.htmlSometimes visiting Central America feels like traveling through time. Here’s an example: In San Salvador, where I am currently, Mister Donut shops are everywhere. Anyone of a certain age in the U.S. or Canada can certainly remember the Mister Donut chain. It was the biggest competitor to Dunkin’ Donuts, and...<p>
<a class="asset-img-link" href="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e2019aff7ec9fa970b-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="MisterDonut" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d83451c64169e2019aff7ec9fa970b" src="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e2019aff7ec9fa970b-300wi" style="width: 300px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="MisterDonut" /></a>Sometimes visiting Central America feels like traveling through time. Here’s an example: In San Salvador, where I am currently, Mister Donut shops are everywhere.</p>
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Anyone of a certain age in the U.S. or Canada can certainly remember the Mister Donut chain. It was the biggest competitor to Dunkin’ Donuts, and had more than 550 stores across the continent.</p>
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In 1990, the chain was acquired by the parent of Dunkin’ Donuts and virtually disappeared in North America. But it stayed alive in Asia and Central America.</p>
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While the logo for Mister Donut is the same as always – a one-eyed chef with a toque -- the Salvadoran shops are bigger than their American counterparts once were and <a href="http://www.misterdonut.com.sv" target="_self">offer Salvadoran specialties</a>, such as stuffed pupusa patties.</p>
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Another thing about Mister Donut here: In September, the chain seems to always offer two-for-one doughnuts so all the stores have long lines, so long that it discouraged me from buying a cup of coffee yesterday for an academic whom I met there and was interviewing.</p>
<p>In any case, Salvadorans just can’t seem to get enough doughnuts.</p>Central AmericaTim JohnsonThu, 19 Sep 2013 21:03:06 -0400Reptiles on the loosehttp://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/reptiles-on-the-loose.html
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2013/09/reptiles-on-the-loose.htmlThe flooding from Tropical Storm Manuel that hit Acapulco over the weekend brought some rather scary creatures onto the streets. News articles describe them as crocodiles but looks more like an alligator in the video to me. This article says 50 came out from the Laguna Negra (Black Lagoon) near...<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/t7qC2PIKqR8" width="460"></iframe></p>
<p>The flooding from Tropical Storm Manuel that hit Acapulco over the weekend brought some rather scary creatures onto the streets. News articles describe them as crocodiles but looks more like an alligator in the video to me. <a href="http://www.publimetro.com.mx/noticias/video-capturan-a-cocodrilo-que-se-escapo-tras-inundaciones-en-acapulco/mmir!lpWsMg3FQE/" target="_self">This article</a> says 50 came out from the Laguna Negra (Black Lagoon) near Puerto Marques to roam the streets. Boas, iguanas and turtles were also displaced by the flood waters, <a href="http://www.cronica.com.mx/notas/2013/738971.html" target="_self">another article says</a>.</p>EnvironmentTim JohnsonWed, 18 Sep 2013 14:59:27 -0400